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Night Watch

King Crimson - Night Watch Audio CD

A fair review of the King Crimson "Night Watch" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all King Crimson reviews here, or go back to the King Crimson tabs.

Band: King Crimson
Title: Night Watch
Rating:

Release Date: 1998-01-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Easy Money 2: Lament 3: Book of Saturday 4: Fracture 5: Night Watch 6: Improv: Starless and Bible Black 7: Improv: Trio 8: Exiles 9: Improv: The Fright Watch 10: Talking Drum 11: Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. II 12: 21st Century Schizoid Man

Outstanding Performance, Excellent CD
This performance was captured when the quartet of Robert Fripp, David Cross, Bill Bruford, and John Wetton were at their peak. I read through some of the reviews here, and they all tend to reflect my feelings almost exactly. Timewise the performance comes sometime after Starless and Bible Black, but before Red. As for the performance itself, there's not much to find fault with, the show is fantastic, flawless, brilliant. The cd packaging is also of high quality, and the liner notes from Fripp are an excellent addition to a perfect package. Add this to your growing King Crimson collection!.

A classic that gets better with age
According to the liner notes there might have been another song for this show but it's missing from all of the band's master tapes. This is a very fine concert that has been around in bootleg circles for years. There are also a couple of techincal problems-1)David Cross' mellotron breaks down during The Night Watch 2)The end of Improv:Starless and Bible Black is missing due to the reel running out 3)part of these performances were edited, overdubbed and used during the making of the album Starless and appearently when this was put together the had to use some of the misc overdubs because the original parts were erased.

As far as the release itself, it is a must have. The songs on here are done in a fine fashion and most of the tech issues have been handled so well that you won't even notice them. Easy Money starts off rocking so hard that you'll be on your knees begging for mercy. Lament, Book Of Saturday and Fracture are all great versions and will put a great big smile on your face. The Night Watch features David's mellotron going down so he quickly moves to electric piano. The Starless improv is great. Improv:Trios is one of the most wonderful and pretty songs they've ever come up with. The same can be said for Exiles. Improv:The Fright Watch is again interesting. The Talking Drum and Larks, Tongues In Aspic(Part Two) rock as hard as the opening Easy Money. The Schizoid Man also rocks and showing off how great this band can handle an older favorite. If you like King Crimson, get this.

i love KC, but but but...
But get it if you dig KC, particularly this era. Starless And Bible Black has always been one of the KC albums I appreciated the least (not sure why), so that would explain why I don't like this as much as many others (a great deal of the 2-disc set is from that album). Good stuff, just not as good as B'Boom or Thrakattak (heh).

Live albums don't get any better than this
Ain't no way you're going to find me saying one bad thing about this fantastic 2-CD document of the band's November 3rd, 1973 concert in Amsterdam. I'm a huge Prog fan and a huge King Crimson fan, and this was my favorite lineup of my favorite Prog band, recorded live at the peak of their powers, complete with some facinating and revelatory liner notes.

This is the show that served as the basis for the Starless & Bible Black album, without overdubs and with crowd noise. Even with technical malfunctions, this is one of the best live albums I've ever heard. You think the mighty Crim was going to let a little mellotron meltdown dilute their power? Think again.

Buy this CD. Cue up "The Talking Drum" and let the CD play through to the end. Now scrape yourself up off the floor and put on the best-ever version of "Exiles. " Then listen to the whole thing. Marvel at the way KC could go from the raw power of "Fracture" to the delicate and beautiful "Trio. " Thrill to the brilliant interplay of 4 insanely talented musicians with a taste for daring improvisation. Shake your head in disbelief at how astoundingly good KC was during this period.

Essential, powerful, gutsy and timeless are just four of the words that come to mind when I think of The Nightwatch. Here's two more: Highly Recommended.

Legendary band, legendary concert
" At this point, live King Crimson albums outnumber their studio recordings. Robert Fripp has turned the King Crimson archives into a cottage industry, releasing countless live recordings through his label, Discipline Global Mobile, and the "King Crimson Collector's Club. You really need a scorecard to keep track of live Crimson.

"The Night Watch" is among the best: a double live CD recorded at Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw in November 1973. This features arguably Crimson's (and progressive rock's) greatest lineup ever: Fripp on guitar, John Wetton on bass and vocals, Bill Bruford on drums & percussion, and violinist David Cross. The concert is noteworthy for producing about half of the "Starless and Bible Black" sessions, which were recorded live and later polished for inclusion on that record. (If you already own "Starless and Bible Black," don't hesitate to pick this up as well. )

The live set covers an admittedly narrow portion of Crimson's career; 10 of the 12 tracks appear on either "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" (1973) or "Starless and Bible Black" (1974), with the unreleased improvisation "The Fright Watch" and a relatively rote version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" thrown in. What the disc lacks in diversity, it makes up for in intensity and live energy. "Easy Money" and "Lament" rock harder and faster than their studio versions. The live setting magnifies the epic grandeur of "Exiles. " And the hypnotic, dynamic rendition of the "Talking Drum/Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II" medley achieves new levels of aural euphoria.

King Crimson always excelled in the studio, but they really come into their own on stage. "The Night Watch" illustrates this as well as any other Crimson live album. If you aren't familiar with the mid-1970's incarnation of King Crimson, this is a great place to start. If you're already a diehard Crimson fan, this set will become an indispensable addition to your collection.

You can see a complete list of all King Crimson discography, or go back to the King Crimson tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.